Mass Effect SI: Always Faithful
by Hufflepuff26
Summary: Tali/OC FemShep. basically SI, I'm trying to be original but it's hard cause there's so many good ones floating around.


A/N: to start off, no I'm not In the Marines(though I am in the Armed Forces), other than this rather large detail, it's pretty much a SI(with a name change[nickname's the same though]) into what I hope will be a grittier darker ME universe, it's one of my first FF so wish me luck. expect Shenanigans my first chapter, it's a bit ridiculous, but I was trying to be original.

I don't own Mass effect or any of the associated characters.

"Mass Effect SI: Always Faithful"

**Somewhere in southwest Asia**

**1330 Local**

**Kodie "Bear" Bynt**

**Sergeant (E-5)**

**USMC **

"So Sergeant" the overly young 2nd Lieutenant asked me "where are we?"

I pulled my head back from where I'd been peering under the hood of the sand choked Humvee. "Well sir" I said as I vigorously rubbed the grease off my hands "I'd say somewhere between FUBAR'd and O-F'd(1)"

"You're maintenance aren't you, fix it!" he yelled at me.

I stared down at him. Glad I stood over him at 6'5, I glared but didn't trust myself not to say something stupid, a habit I'd picked up early in my career. _Stupid fucking asshole _my mind said what I wouldn't _I Freaking told you I worked on fucking Helo's, I've not even trained on HVs'._

_Honestly I don't even know what I was thinking when I agreed to come with you_, I sighed to myself, _all I wanted was a decent cup of coffee_, could I help it that the only place you could find that was the Air base 4 hours from the FOB my unit was stationed at. It certainly wasn't my fault that a sandstorm had whipped up out of nowhere, and it defiantly wasn't my idea to push on even though we couldn't see 5 feet in front of us, losing the road, getting stranded when the HV broke down in the middle of nowhere. Having to wait hours for the storm to clear, till the sun was high in the sky our water was running low, which God knows means freaking death in the sand dune covered hell we'd found ourselves in.

I continued glaring at him as I pulled up the M16 I'd left leaning on the grille replacing the helmet I'd left lying on the sill of the engine. "How's it going with that radio Brighton?" I said to the mousy PFC in the driver's seat, my deep baritone voice making him jump a little. He was the only other Marine brave, desperate or stupid enough to come along on the LTs' little jaunt _honestly I'm not sure which of those categories I fit into myself_.

"nothing doin' sarge" he squeaked at me "Sat-Phone's dead to"

_Right, so definitely O-F'd._ I sighed as the LT started screaming at Brighton for something, losing himself in his rant.

"I'm going to check the Perimeter" I said to no one in particular.

I rolled my eyes as I headed up the nearest sand dune hoping I could spot the road. I squinted against the sun as I tried to spot anything that wasn't sand_. _

_Well I certainly didn't expect to see much..wait...__what is that?_

I turned my head down to the stranded Humvee and let loose a loud whistle, getting the attention of the LT and Brighton. I nodded my head towards...well, whatever it was on the horizon, an indicator I hoped the Brain-dead LT would figure out meant I wanted him up here.

The LT turned to give a final word to Brighton before he stormed up to me, _apparently he's got a brain cell in there somewhere_.

I took the LT a minute or two as it was a rather steep climb, in the meantime I signaled Brighton to grab a pair of Binoculars and follow him up.

"What is it Sergeant?" the LT huffed at me out of breath.

I tilted my head towards…whatever. "Shelter I hope, maybe someplace with a phone" I said lowly.

He raised his hand to his eyes, trying to see the structure I'd spotted in the distance.

I offered my hand to Brighton, pulling him up as he started to crest the hill nodding my thanks as he handed me the 'nocks.

"Well" I offered, zooming in as best I could "it's defiantly a structure of some kind man-made, possibly a bunker...could have radio, half a mile maybe, we could scout it, someone'll need to wait here though, in case the base gets wise to us missing". I secretly prayed that the LT would choose to stay with the Humvee so I could be free of him for at least a little while.

"Right you and me will go, Brighton secure the Humvee"

_Shit_

__  
_**a short walk later**

Let me tell you in case you never had to walk anywhere in the hot desert sun with a dumb as shit LT, Not…a good...idea. If I'd had to go any farther I'd have shot him myself, if his constant chatter hadn't drawn the attention of any hostiles who might have been around.

The structure I'd seen had apparently been the entrance to some kind of underground building, looking like it'd only recently been uncovered in the sandstorm.

"Looks like this was a wast-"

I put my hand over his mouth silencing him with the gesture, he was fuming but he shut up. I was helicopter maintenance by MOS, but every Marine a rifleman and I'd spent more than my fair share of time deployed as such, I guess he was smart enough to know I wouldn't do something like that idly.

_Tactical entry_ I signaled, shouldering my M16. We were in Unknown territory after all and it's always better to be safe than sorry.

He nodded signaling back for me to go first.

_Very brave of him_ I thought rolling my eyes but I hadn't expected it of him anyway.

I moved silently down the stair wincing as he followed me making, to my ears, more noise than a bull elephant in a china shop, a real accomplishment considering how hard it is to make that much noise on what was essentially sand covered stairs. At least he seemed to be covering his corners, not having forgotten all his training.

We fanned out at the bottom of the stairs, into a medium sized Square room.

"Clear" I said after checking all my sectors

"Clear" the LT responded, he wheeled on me quickly "well Look at this fine mess you've gotten us into Sergeant, there ain't nothing here and we've wasted water and energy walking all the way out here!"

I grunted, tuning him out and ignoring him as my eyes scanned the room.

"Not completely empty" I muttered my eyes locking on a carving on the far wall.

I walked foreword slowly unclicking the strap holding my helmet in place pulling it off my head as I went.

"Are you listening to me Sergeant!" the LT continued

Admittedly I was entranced, but I probably wouldn't have been paying him mind anyway

My helmet fell to the floor as my hand reached out to trace the etching on the wall, _it can't be?_

Like most Marines I'd developed a bit of love for videogames, a habit I made no attempt to hide. And what I was looking at now was something straight out of one of my personal favorites, the SSV Normandy beautifully etched into the earthen wall so well It looked almost real. That in itself was only just odd; a talented kid who'd played Mass Effect could have wandered in here and drawn it or something like that. my muddled mind missed the obvious cue that we were probably the first people in here in a long time. No the thing that made me focus on it alone was that it was glowing...not just glowing but moving slowly around in circles, I couldn't tear my eyes away. It moved faster and faster…glowing brighter and brighter…

I gasped, realling back as the light jumped to my fingers. it felt like it was eating me slowly, engulfing my hand, then my arm. I swore, waving my arm wildly trying to shake it off. I tripped, and then I was falling.

_Shit_

**I woke up **with a start my head jolting up from my handmade workbench.

_Wait…wasn't I just_ I checked my surroundings _this is my…_ it was my woodshop, really just a converted shed out behind my house. It was a hobby I'd picked up after my first deployment. I checked myself in the window; I was wearing my favorite flannel top with a white undershirt and my favorite dark blue jeans. My skin was already tanned but I was still sporting my darkened tone forged in the desert my standard High & tight cut showed the tan lines from my sunglasses and the normally black hairs on my arm were still sun-bleached blonde.

_What the hell is going on here?_

"We sensed that this was the place you'd be most comfortable" a dark haired olive skinned women said as she for all intents and purposes appeared into the room. Her voice had a twinge of after echo, like someone was playing it on a half second delay after she spoke.

My reaction was immediate and lightning fast; I shot up from my seat, my left hand reaching under a table pulling out the Springfield 1911 I'd taped under the table, another remnant from my first deployment.

"What the hell is going on here" I said keeping my voice as calm and level as possible. The women to her credit didn't even flinch.

"We also sensed that this form would be calming for you", the echo left her voice as she spoke next "Kodie cub"

"no one-!" I swallowed hard forcing myself to remain calm but keeping both hands on the pistol "my mother, is dead, I couldn-…I was at the Funeral, I saw the body."

"Very well" the echo was back as my mother winked at me "don't freak out". The woman, if I could call her that, started "shedding" my mother like a snakeskin. What was left…god I wasn't even sure what it was. It was human shaped sure, but it glowed with an intense blue light that reminded me of the underground room, glowing blue hair flowing from its' head like someone had a hair dryer to its' face. "Have no fear, we mean you no harm"

"What are you?" I asked bewildered.

"We simply are" it came to my attention that it's feet were floating off the ground. The echo was far worse, like multiple voices were vying to speak but the voice was soft, soothing. "And we need you" it giggled..._giggled?_

"wha…?" I shut my mouth questions shot through my head _where's the LT, how did I get here, what are you!_ But I bit my tongue _calm down, your hallucintating, you're dehydrated, that's all_.

It let out an unearthly chuckle rolling what I Imagine passed for it's eyes "We're not a hallucination"

_Exactly something a hallucination would say_

it shrugged "makes this easy I guess" my workshop disappeared around us and suddenly we were floating in space. "You won't be needing that" it said extending a hand, my 1911 shot away from what I thought was a solid grip.

"HEY!"

"Relax" it said "we need you to listen, we can't speak to you like this for long" it took a deep breath, I assume in preparation. "We've watched for as long as time has been, many worlds, many dimensions, many universes, each in flux, we...maintain balance" the universe changed around me and we were floating over my earth. "You're rare, one in a trillion, someone who we may be spoken to if only for a short time…you're a part of us we lost long ago, a very rare gift, which you've neglected by the way."

I didn't say anything just listened and nodded, _I'm pretty sure this is some kind of rethink your life hallucination_

it glared at me seemingly disturbed by my though but continued unabated "Luckily for you, your world is stable, life will carry on as it will, easy enough to manage…but, there are other places." the universe shifted again and we floated next to what I immediately recognized as a Mass Relay, then to earth, burning. "These places are in flux, we must…you have a spark." its' speech seemed to be fragmenting "This place,people called seers used it for entertainment, but their view...it forced a change, your presence… it would stabilize make it right, better" it seemed to be struggling as it continued "you could save worlds, billions, if not…trillions, hanging in balance"

"If I'm so important why not just make me go? It would've been easier than this sideshow"

"can't force to do something, not like this." its swallowed finding the words "choice…Life is choice"

_defiantly__ a rethink your life Hallucination, _"What about my home, the LT, Brighton"

The universe shifted again, and we floated in the air over the broken Humvee, now flanked by several identical but working versions of the stranded vehicle. Brighton was shaking the convoy commander's hand I could see his lips moving as he pointed in the general direction of where me and the LT had gone. "You…end." Time skipped, the LT was carrying my body over the dunes, back in the direction of the HVs' "you…cease, they…continue"

"And If I refuse?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Back…to taken from" The Universe shifted to the cave, where the LT was shaking my body, hands feeling for a pulse. "Time…Short" It was definitely struggling to talk to me now, frustrating it immensely.

"So what you're saying is you want me to volunteer to go to a Universe I've fantisized about for years, because "somehow" I can save it?" I shook my head. "This is like…" _Bad fan-fiction_. I sighed, stroking my eyes. at least I could ask the most important question "How's the coffee there?"

Its giggled again but it seemed almost in pain, stopping to straighten up before going back on topic "…safety…no guarantee. This place,…it is real…not bettered by seers"

"despite this being some crazy hallucination, you should know my life was forfeit the minute I signed that dotted line. You're asking me to go somewhere I dreamed about going to save lives. Hell, If I wasn't going crazy, I'd be honored"

"This is real" it shook its head "doesn't matter...you won't...can not...return if chosen" it looked at me solemnly

"From that universe" I laughed, "don't think I'll want to"

"Reserve mind...Decision?" it struggled.

"what the hell" I shrugged, figuring I'd wake up back in the desert feeling none the worse for wear, maybe some kind of lesson learned.

It positively smiled tapping me on the chest filling me with a warm glow "Angel" it said forcing the word out.

I raised a curious eyebrow at where it tapped me, "I'm no Angel" I poked myself in the same spot "Devil Dog"

It smirked at me glowing brighter and brighter painfully so, the universe shifted again to what vaguely reminded me of the Citadel

"Angel" I squinted into the bright light, letting out a laugh as I caught its smile. "Semper…Fidelis" it smashed into me consuming my body and I felt like I was falling again.

I couldn't help myself, I laughed.

"Oorah"

**what a trippy** dream i thought as woke, I winced when I tried to open my eyes, a harsh artificial light was right over my head.

_damn, was i that bad, must be in a hospital somewhere,_ the metal I was laying on supported my theory. _Metal gurney, must be a locals hospital._ I took stalk of myself with my eyes closed _right, all present and accounted for, feels like I'm in uniform,_ though the distinctive weight of my plate-carrier vest was gone.

I felt a sharp pain as someone jabbed me in the side. followed by a voice.

"Hey!" my eyes shot open. The voice was garbled, but I recognized the warble immediatly, A Batarian was crouched down over my face blocking out the street light overhead.

"What...the...FUCK!"

**A/n: Intro Chapter. Constructive criticism welcome. No flames, please.**

**(1)O-F'd(Ominously Fucked) , FUBAR(Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition)**


End file.
